Jerusalem represents the religious sentiments of about a billion Muslims living across the globe and the US president’s decision to declare this sacred land as the capital of Israel amounts to political bankruptcy of the fascist Trump regime, the joint resistance leadership (JRL) said on Thursday, and called for peaceful protests across the Valley after Friday prayers (8th December 2017) against the controversial move.

In a statement, the JRL comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik said that Jerusalem is our “Qibl-e-Awwal and no Muslim can ever accept it as the capital of the Zionist state of Israel. By taking this irrational decision, the US president Donald Trump is actually showing his imprudent politics, fascist behavior and enmity against Muslims.”

Terming the US move as “naïve and dangerous for international peace”, the leaders said that such unilateral anti-Muslim decisions are “bound to deteriorate and damage the already-fragile peace and tranquility in the world.”

The joint leadership appealed to Muslim Ummah to unite against this “bizarre” US decision and support the Palestinian cause, saying the world can never taste real peace, tranquility and progress if such decisions are implemented. “Instead of resolving the disputes confronting humans, more problems are twisted.”

Kashmiris will continue to protest against this “horrible” decision and stage peaceful protests across the Valley after Friday prayers, the statement read.

Meanwhile, the JRL said that Kashmiris are being subjected to worst kind of torture and oppression but the champions of human rights, to safeguard their economic ambitions, are maintaining a criminal silence over it.

On 10th December—the international human rights day—Kashmiris will observe a complete shutdown and blackout against gross human rights violations, the leaders said.

On the same day, Geelani, Mirwaiz and Malik will lead a protest rally from Hamza Masjid at Kokerbazar, Lal Chowk towards the UN observers’ office in Srinagar where a memorandum will be handed over to the UN representatives, they said.

A seminar will also be held on Saturday (9th of December 2017) in which human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir will be highlighted, the JRL statement read, adding that the seminar “human rights violations in Kashmir and criminal silence of the international community” will be held at Hyderpora residence-cum-office of Geelani.

“United Nations has itself created a forum namely human rights commission that also makes hue and cry on human rights abuses. Kashmir is also part of human civilization and humans with same blood and flesh are living on this land but these humans are being treated like cattle by the Indian oppression for a long time,” the JRL said, adding that for the past 70 years, people of Jammu and Kashmir are “facing Indian aggression and oppression. Lakhs of people have been killed and this killing spree is continuing unabated. Thousands of young and old have been disappeared in custody, thousands of unmarked graves bear witness to extrajudicial killings, attacks on chastity of women are being used as a weapon of war and thousands of innocents have been going through jails and incarcerations.” The JRL said that if one only looks back at the events of the past one year, “you would find hundreds of young Kashmiris being gunned down and the killing of humans glamorised by New Delhi and its media. During this time, thousands of men and women, boys and girls have been showered with pellets and their eyesight snatched. Many have been maimed and injured and are forced to endure a lifetime misery. Thousands have been put into jails, police lockups, incarceration centers and the so-called rulers are using arbitrary laws like PSA to prolong their incarceration.”

“From Tihar jail in Delhi to jails of Jammu and Kashmir, thousands of Kashmiri inmates are suffering at the hands of oppressive Indian authorities,” they said, adding that areas in north and south of Kashmir are “witnessing a new phase of terror and torture. Crackdowns, vandalising private residences and property, beating and humiliating people without the consideration of gender and age, arresting young, old, women and men indiscriminately, arresting fathers in place of sons and brothers in place of brothers and other oppressive operations are continuing without a pause.”

“Kashmiris are being terrorised but no one in the international community seems to bother. India, which claims to be the biggest democracy in the world, has let loose a reign of terror in Jammu and Kashmir but no one is raising his voice against this state-sponsored terrorism,” the JRL leaders said in the statement. They asked: “Aren’t Kashmiris humans; aren’t they also a part of the humanity; don’t they have a right to live with freedom and dignity as other humans do, and how long will the international community in its pursuit to safeguard its economic aspirations, maintain a criminal silence over this gruesome human tragedy?”

Keeping silent for petty trade and economic benefits is dangerous and the international community should introspect its role vis-à-vis gross human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir, the JRL said, adding that New Delhi will “never succeed in suppressing the voices of freedom of the people of Jammu Kashmir and despite all these atrocities, Kashmiris will continue with their struggle for freedom and self-determination.”